Lionel Messi ended the year reminding the world that his soccer hadn’t faded away. At 38, he delivered his most prolific club season since 2018–19, back when he was still wearing Barcelona’s colors, scoring 43 goals in 49 games for Inter Miami. It’s a leap that puts the Argentine forward back at the center of the soccer conversation and breaks the idea that MLS would be nothing more than a comfortable final stop in his career.
From a quiet stretch at PSG to a reinvention in the United States
The impact becomes even clearer when you look at what came before. At PSG, Messi went through two unusual years, far from the numbers he was used to producing. He scored 11 goals in the 2021–22 season and 21 the following year, while the Argentine national team was the one carrying his spark. In 2022, the year of the World Cup title in Qatar, he had his most prolific season with the national team, putting up 18 goals in 14 matches and leaving his mark on the thrilling final against France.
At club level, though, the picture was different. The Barcelona version of Messi felt increasingly distant, locked in memories of an era that wouldn’t return. When he accepted the challenge of playing in the United States in 2023, many people saw it as a step toward retirement. That storyline didn’t hold. He needed time to adjust his pace, understand the league and reclaim his role as a leading figure. Late in 2023, he scored 11 goals in 14 matches and lifted the Leagues Cup. In 2024, he kept climbing with 23 goals in 25 games and the Supporters Shield.
The year Messi takes back the spotlight
Everything shifted in 2025. For the first time since arriving at Inter Miami, Messi managed top-level performance, consistency and trophies all at once. He finished as MLS top scorer with 35 goals across the regular season and playoffs, earned the league’s best player award and became the technical leader of a team that, not long ago, couldn’t imagine fighting for the top.
The MLS Cup final summed up his new moment. Even without scoring in the 3–1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps, he directly influenced all three plays that sealed the historic title. He set up the sequence that led to Ocampo’s own goal and provided the passes that Rodrigo De Paul and Tadeo Allende finished.
Messi closes 2025 showing he still has enough fuel to compete at a high level, something not everyone expected. Whether that’s tied to the upcoming World Cup or simply the drive to stay relevant, only he knows.